Hearing News Watch

    By David H. Kirkwood COPENHAGEN–Two of the hearing aid industry’s Big Six companies–William Demant, parent company of Oticon, and GN ReSound—are taking steps to strengthen their retail distribution channels. Demant announced yesterday (February 17) that it is negotiating to buy a majority interest in Audika Groupe, the largest network of hearing aid centers in France.   On February

  BOSTON–The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has sued Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by failing to provide adequate captioning for the vast array of online content they make available to the general public, including through massive open online courses

Readers of Holly Hosford-Dunn’s blog Hearing Economics have learned recently about some highly innovative “hearables” that have entered or may soon enter the market. Following is an even more futuristic product—or at least potential product—that may some day improve life for people with hearing loss.   An ITM (in-the-mouth) device FORT COLLINS, CO—A team of faculty and graduate students at

  NEW HAVEN, CT—Sleeplessness, difficulty in concentrating, anxiety, and depression are some of the common distressing effects on people who suffer from tinnitus, that ringing, hissing, or roaring sound in the ear that often accompanies hearing loss. Now, research conducted at Yale University School of Medicine has found that tinnitus is also associated with increased risk of injury in the

Editor’s note:  This post was updated February 9, 2015, to reflect a revised news release issued by Unitron on February 5, replacing its original release of January 29. PLYMOUTH, MN—For several years, scientists have been aware of evidence that seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing. But what has

WESTON, OH—The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has charged that MCM Precision Castings, Inc., exposed an employee to noise levels averaging 97 dB, equivalent to the noise of a jackhammer, over his eight-hour shift. According to an OSHA news release issued on January 17, an inspection of the company’s foundry in Weston, OH, resulted in 18 charges of

      GLENDALE, AZ—Ever since fall 2013 when Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs fans began competing for the title of the National Football League’s noisiest rooters (Chiefs’ supporters set the record when they created a din reaching 142.2 dB in their home field), the hearing care community has seized upon the Super Bowl as a golden opportunity to increase public awareness of

    DURHAM, NC–One drawback of wearing a cochlear implant (CI) is that it creates complications for CI wearers who need to undergo an MRI  (magnetic resonance imaging).  Doing an MRI scan of the head with the CI in place can prevent an accurate scan from being produced.  Worse yet, scanning any part of the body with the implant in place can

ERLANGEN, GERMANY–The sale of Siemens Audiology Solutions to private investors, agreed to on November 6, passed through regulatory scrutiny without a hitch and was finalized on January 15. The purchasers, EQT and the Strüngmann family, paid €2.15 billion (approximately $2.5 billion at the time of closing) to Siemens AG for its hearing aid division, making the transaction the largest in

BRIDGEPORT, CT—Vincenzo Mirci, a 9-year military veteran, won the right to pursue his goal of becoming a police officer when, last November, the Bridgeport Civil Service Commission overturned an earlier decision by the city that he could not serve because he was unable to pass a hearing test without the hearing aid he wears in one ear. Mirci, 35, who